Second Great Crusade
The Second Great Crusade is the great period of expansion and never-ending battle to reunite and bring back to the Imperial fold, those worlds that were lost during the galaxy-spanning internecine conflict, known as the Horus Heresy. The Legiones Astartes were left badly depleted, and many of the Loyalist Space Marine Legions en route to Terra, were unable to travel by Warp to bypass the powerful Ruinstorm conjured up by the Traitor Legions. When the newly instilled High Lords of Terra were instilled to oversee the affairs of the mortally wounded Emperor and the ruling of his vast Imperium, they decided to utilise the multitudes of Imperialis Auxilia (Imperial Army) troops as well as the elite formations of the Solar Auxilia to launch the Second Great Crusade, in order to reclaim those worlds lost to the Traitor, to defend the borders of the Imperium from those whom might seek to take advantage of the dire situation, and to bring the sword to those who might threaten Mankind. Once the Legiones Astartes was brought back to full strength, they too began to take part in the monumental efforts of the Second Great Crusade. During this time, they Space Marine Legion were split to create new legions, to replace those which had fallen to the Ruinous Powers. Since that bygone era, the Imperium has continued to conduct this crusade, which has been ongoing since the end of the Horus Heresy, ten millennia earlier, right up to the present time in the 41st Millennium. History Following the bitter and bloody fighting of the disastrous civil war, the mortally wounded Emperor was interred within the miraculous workings of the great prosthetic device, known as the Golden Throne. Like the Emperor, the Imperium had been left a dismal shattered thing. As the beauty and grandeur of the Imperial Palace had been burned black in the flames of betrayal, so great swathes of the Emperor's star-spanning realm had suffered a similar fate. Though some bayed for the blood of the Traitors, the Imperium could ill-afford to give chase to the Traitor Legions or even properly prosecute a war of reciprocity. The resolute guardians of the Imperium, the Legiones Astartes, had been shattered by the betrayal of their former cousins, who had thrown their lot in with the Arch-Traitor, the Warmaster Horus. Many the Space Marine Legions were still best by the powerful Warp Storm, known as the Ruinstorm, and so were unable to come to Terra's aid in its darkest hour. Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists and Praetorian of Terra, mourned the loss of his father and lamented the loss of so many innocent lives. But he cautioned the newly instilled rulers of the Imperium, the so-called High Lords of Terra, the Emperor's personal representatives, that the Space Marine Legions need to be allowed to rebuild and marshal their strength. Their numbers had been sorely depleted during the final epic battle of the conflict, during the Siege of Terra. The three Loyalist Legions that stood alone in defence of Terra needed time to take account of their losses and to lick their wounds. But the resolute Primarch knew there must be some kind of response from Terra. The Traitor Legions needed to wiped out for their base treachery. Thus, the High Lords of Terra made their decision and let their judgement be known - though the Legiones Astartes had been gravely wounded, they would live to fight another day. Throwing their lives away needlessly in campaign of vengeance wouldn't benefit anyone. But this did not mean, that there wouldn't be any kind of military response. The Imperialis Auxilia, known as the Imperial Army and the elite regiments of the Solar Auxilia, numbered into the hundreds of millions. Thus, for the first time in over two centuries, the Imperialis Auxilia would be the speartip for the Imperium's military forces, leading the ragged fleets of the Imperium on a Second Great Crusade - to reclaim that which was lost, and to bring the light of reason back to the darkest corners of the galaxy. Category:History Category:Imperium of Man Category:Space Marines